Control for water softening apparatus



Sept- 9, 1952 L. G. LINDSAY I 2,610,147

CONTROL. FOR WATER SOFTENING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 2, 1948 2 SHEETS-SHEETl A j ,.J 34 47 6 35' Ziornqy p 9, 1952 L. G. LINDSAY 2,610,147

CONTROL FOR WATER SOFTENING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 2, 1948 2 SHEETSSHEET 20 35 .[nvezaior ZZornqg Patented Sept. 9, 1952 OFFICE 2,610,147 commonF' 'jlt WATEK SOFTENING APPARATUS LynnG'l Liindsay, St. Paul, Minn:Appfitatienoctbtet 2, 194's; seriaiNbis'zsti This invention relates towater softening l p;- lfi'ajraitus and-controls therefor, andparticularly to controls for water softeners of the type wh'efe body ofthe water softening maiterietl"\rihich-requires regenerationperiodically; a It is an Object Of my invention to provide "forapparatus" or this class an improved; semiautomatic control andtimingmeehatiism' which ie quires '21, minimumcf skill aindeffortbn I nt of"the opetattof' anawhereby the eriodic re gn'ei'ation f the softeningmaterial is fal'il itaite'd". V IA bartiiiltf'dbject i to fifdviiie in aco'htfol off'the' class' decrib'ed' peculiarly inexpensive-- andreliable meanslor accuratelir lirnitingenfq re Strit'ingthe feftof flowof regeneratin liquid through the softening material during regeneretion, in co'mbihation with fneztris for frarpidly drawing'off the" waterwhic must be displeiced to permit jtl'l'e" charging of th'eepparatus"with regenerating mater'iai;

Another abject is to provide in asso'cietien with a valve memberwhich'i's sb'lin'g bia'se'd'to one position and adapted to beme'rineilyset in another position, novel and improved latch meeh=aniemfati'aptetlf to be actuated by clock meclia niein'tocausetlievalvemember tn-move totl'ie first mentioned position after the-ela se of apredetermined'period oftime.

Further objects are to provide en iile xpen siveycompact and efficientcontrol which weerticularly, although not exclusively; adapt'eg tofacilitate the regeneration and flushing of domeetic Water softeners. AV

The invention also includes certain other novel features of constructionwhich will appear-and bemore fully pointe'dout in thefoll'owingspecification and claims.

Referring to h the accompanying drawings which illustrate, by way ofex'amplan'd not for the purpose of limitation, a preferred embodiinentof my'invention:

Figure 1 is' a side elevational view'showing my improved control ona'water softener of the upflow type, the softener being shown in centralvertical section; Fig. 2" isa top plain view of the centre-lend showingthe water softening apparatus iii-hmizontalsection, the sectionbeingtaken approxi mately 0nthe' line'2"=2 of Fig. 1; V A Fig. 3 ise;horizontal section through-thesoftener'tetnk taken-On the 5 line ii-e 3"of F ig. l

Fig-(4 is a; central, longitudinalsectionthrough the herd water inletfitting;

re s'pectively'of Fig; 11, and I "Fig. 14'is an endview ortnearemrestricting va v -heed. H

The water s'bffiehiidg gpbef'gtfisfilmsti'e, thear'awings has a,substantially c iineri ii lf5jcdnttti11irlg" away; It or,wa.ter*sbitemhteria'l siippoited oheib'ed I1 of gieti'leli 7 11 m top'opehirig andiem'evap ec p anews' accesstoebrine ompertment 2 upper portio'n' ofthetank 1 0 puipese ing with granular regenerating in'eten meaning. A*rizontaiiy-extentnng separates theiowe p rti n 0'1 the brine'cqmpartmentI205 Hate w the'cham'b'er 'gothreughe p pe u tir'ol of vaiye zzn jm watr ehtei's"t through ettingzageig ri;22111 49 h l restricted inlet port 24"edaiatedtofiiiecttiie ter at nign eibcity in a ewirling' niahne'r chaber 20; the fittin -ca m ng giiepdse'd' trtcdirect thewatersubstantially t to the cylindrical wall of the chamber An aidallyextending pipe 25 i s"r necteci at its umie'r end' tothe piaii' 1extends dbwhweci'my and centrally tlie f roni to a. point ear thebo'ttomof the"tankz g wtlfi aflrjnitted'to the qpper 'end of' thepip'e 25 thibgli .afgtiainer tubezsjwriieh fits l oosly'i end ot the pipe'25andisisupported key "27' extending through a; peifbiatigjrijii' "lietube endresting" oi the'ubber surface ofthepe 5 tition is. To fecilitatecl aning-crime st tube 26 it is thus maiiefeadilyremovibl fli'rougli theopehingfinthe 11015 of thetank' weenie 513 1.8 is open.

Fixed the i ew rer dor theipifieijsii'se. izo'ntally extendingbafilepl'ate 28 having integral;

members 29 projecting downward to rest on the inner surface of the tankbottom.

An outlet for the tank i5 is located at an elevation' above the watersoftening material it and is provided with a strainer tube 3b whichextends horizontally within the tank and communicates with the inletport of my improved control valve having a casing indicated generally bythe numeraltl The tank outlet fitting comprises a threaded nipple 32inwhich an inlet port 33 for the casing Si is formed. This main controlvalve casing is also formed with a drain port 34 communicating with thewaste or drain pipe 35 and a service port 36 communicating with aservice pipe 31 adapted to conduct soft water to the faucets or otherservice outlets.

As best shown in Fig. 12 the drain port 3:3 is in continuouscommunication through a passag'e 38 with a chamber 39 formed in thecasing 31, Movable in the chamber 39 is the head All of a valvememberadapted to limit and control the rate of fiow of liquid from thesoftener to the drain pipe. This valve head All has a conical faceadapted to close against a seat 4! formed in the casing 3| and extendingacross the face of the conical surface is-a kerf d2 (Fig. 14) adapted topermit continuous flow of water at a predetermined fixed rate when thehead 45 is in closed position against its seat ii. The head ill ismounted on a screw threaded' stem 43 which projects to the interior ofthe. casing and is operative by means of a handle as to move the head 40to and from the seat 4!.

Spaced annular valve seats'45 and iL'are provided in the casing 31 for avalve head t! which is fixed on an operating stem it and adapted to bemoved from closed position in contact with one of these seats to aclosed position in contact with the other seat. The port 33 opens into achamber 29 extending between the valve seats 45 and it and a chamber 5t,also formed in the casing 3|, is connected by a passage 5| to allow flowof liquid to the seat 5i and valve head at which controls the rate offlow to the drain passage 38 and the drain pipe 35. Thus when the head4'! is closed against its seat 45 flow of liquid from the inlet port 33to the service port 35 and pipe 3'! is permitted and flow from the port33 to chamber 58 is out off. When the head 37 is closed against its seat3 6, fiow to the service pipe 31 is substantially out off and flow tothe drain pipe 35 is permitted at a rate which is determined either bythe fixed orifice defined by' the kerf 32 or by the enlarged passagebetween the head it and seat 5! when the head is in open position. Thevalve head ll is spring biased toward closed position on its seat 45 bya spring 52 which is confinedon the stem at between a head 53 fixed onthe outer end thereof and a bearing 5d formed in the casing 3 l Mountedin axial alignment with the valve stem 48 is a plunger 55 having anoperating knob 56 on its outer end and carrying a spring 5'! in a recessin its inner end. The spring 5! normally projects to engage the outerface of the head 53 and to transmit thrust to the stem I48. An annularshoulder 53 is formed on the plunger 55 for engagement with latchmechanism comprising a radially movable detent fiil'mounted in a housing66 carried by the outer end portion of thevalv e casing fell The casingtil-is formed with a cylindrical bearing member'jiaila which embracesthe casing 3i and is secured theretoby means of set screws 6517 (Fig.9). A pair of antifriction' rollers 6! are, carried by the lower enddetent and anchored at its upperend to a pin E33 projecting from thehousing 6%. Carried by the upper end portion of the detent 59 is a smallroller t4 (Figs. 6 and 11) which is held in rolling contact with theperipheries of carn disks 65 and 6E, shown separately in Figs. 7 and 8.These disks are mounted in face to face contact one with the other on aspindle El which projects ried by the detent 59.

from actuating mechanism for the detent 5%. Suitable spring operatedclock mechanism is contained in a front portion of the housing 6i! andthe spindle El projects from the front of the housing and base. manuallyoperable knob 68 fixed on its front end for manual operation of. thespindle. The cam 66 is fixed on the spindle (i-l and the cam is free toturn thereon within the limits determined by the movement of, a pin 69,which projects from the cam disk 66, in an arcuate slot it formed in thedisk 65. A recess H is formed in the otherwise circular periphery of thecam disk 65 and a recess 72 of somewhat dif ferent shape is formed inthe otherwise circular periphery of the cam disk 66, both of theserecesses being adapted to receive the roller 64 car- A cam surface 72aextends at a gradual incline from the inner extremity of the recess E2to the outer periphery of the cam disk 66 for engagement with the rollerE54 and toactuate the latter radially outward relative to the cam disksand spindle 61? when it is desired to set the detent 59 in engagementwith the shoulder 58 of the plunger 55.

The clock mechanism in the housing Gil includes a main spring l3operatively connected to spindle it! for winding and having a frictionclutch device M which connects the spring 73 to the spindle tl-throughsuitable speed reducing gearing to turn the knob 68 counter-clockwisetoward a stop pin 15 at a predetermined relatively slow rate. The knob68 is formed with a pointer which by reference to a dial and legends onthe front face of the housing 60 may be set for a suitable period oftime corresponding to the time required for regeneration and flushing ofthe body of softening material :6.

As shown in Fig. 13, the seat 63 for the valve head 41 is formed with aminute kerf EB which permits equalization of the pressure at oppositefaces of the head ll when the latter is closed against its seat 56. Ithereby guard against the holding of the head 4'! in closed position onthe seat A6 with sufficient fluid pressure to prevent the expansion ofspring 52 when the valvestem as is released by withdrawal of the detent59 from engagement with the shoulder .58 at the end of the regeneratingand flushing period.

Operation During the normal water softening operation the valve head 50is closed against its seat 4!, the head 41'! is closed against its seat45, as indicated Figs. 12 and 11 respectively, and the valve 22 is open.This allows hard water to pass from the pipe 2i into the chamber em,from this chamber through the slots in the strainer tube 28,downwardthrough. the pipe 25 andto flow from the outer perimeter of theba'fll'e'plate 23 into'and through the bodies'of gravel 1 and-watersoftening material It. The hardening salts arethereby removed from thewater and the soft water is forced out of the tank through the strainertube 30 into the valve casing 3| through the port 33 and out the serviceporttii and pipe 31 past the valveseat 45.

When regeneration is required, the-valve 22 is closed to cut-off thesupply ofhard water to the tank l5 and the valve handle 44 is turned towithdraw the head-4bfrom the seat 4|. The cap [8 is then removed,allowing air to enter chamber 20, and a sufficient quantity of water isallowed to flow out of the chamber 20 through pipe 25 and valve casing3| for replacement by the charge of common salt or other regeneratingmaterial which is to be placed in the chamber 20 through the topopening. By providing for the quick and wide opening of the valve head40 relative to its seat 4-! thereby allowing water to flow rapidly fromthe salt chamber 20 to the drain pipe 35 under the small headof gravityavailable, I greatly facilitate and hasten the initiation of thegenerating treatment. This 'is particularly advantageous with watersofteningapparatus of the upflow type where thereis only a small head ofwater above the drain outlet and it is necessary to provide greatlyrestricted flow to drain during the regenerating and flushing period.

The valve head 49 is allowed to remainin its open position for the briefperiod required to drain off the excess water from the tank l5 and thenthe handle 44 is'manip-ulated to close the head 40 against its seat 4|,regenerating material is charged into the chamber 2!] and the cap 18 isclosed and secured in sealed relation to the tank. As the next operationpreparatory'to regeneration, the knob 56 of the plunger 55 is thrustinward against the bias of the Springs 52 and 51 to close the valve head4! against its seat 46 and the knob 58 of the timing mechanism is turnedclockwise to a position where its pointer indicates time in minutesrequired for regenerating and flushing. When the knob 68 is in itsterminal osition in contact with the stop pin 15, the roller 64' is inits elevated position within the recesses "H and 12 in thecam'disks-65and 66. The operator by turning the knob fifi clockwise fromits zero position causes the-cam surface 12a to engage the roller 64 andto actuate this roller together with the detent 59 downward out of therecesses "H and 12. Such movement of the knob 68 and spindle 61 bringsthe roller 64 in contact with the circular peripheral surfaces of thecam disks 65 and 66 so that the detent 59 is held in its downwardlyextended or locking position with respect to the shoulder 58 on theplunger 55. Rotation of the knob 68 and spindle 61 in a clockwisedirection also winds the main spring 13 of the clock mechanism so thatthereafter, through the friction drive, the clock mechanism slowlyreturns the spindle 61 and knob in a counter-clockwise direction towardits initial or zero position. During this operation the circularperipheries of the cam disks 55 and 66 revolve in contact with theanti-friction roller 54. Ordinarily the time required for regenerationand flushing does not exceed one hour and my time control mechanism ispreferably provided with a dial having legends and calibrated toindicate by reference to the pointer on the knob 68 suitableregenerating and flushing periods.

The operator, having set the knob 68, by reference to the dial, for thetime required for regeneration and flushing, finally opens the valve 22to start the regenerating andflushingcycle. During this cycle water athigh velocity isinjected into the brine chamber z ll throughthe noz'zleport 24 which causes the water to swirl at fairly high velocity aroundthe walls and within thechamber 2D to thereby rapidly dissolvethe-Saltorother solid regenerating material. The resulting-brine flows through theslots in the strainer tube-26, downward through this tube-andpipe 25- tothe bottom of the tank and thenceradially outward beneath the bafileplate 28 which-eific'iently distributes the liquid through the gravelbed [land thence to the body of sof-tening material IS. The brineregenerates the material [B and the spent brine and impurities flow outthrough thestrainer tube 30', valve casing 3I- and drain pipe 35. fSDG-cifically, the valve head-41 being closed against its seat4ii, the spentbrine andimpurities from the softening material enter the casing 3ithrough the port 33 and flow to and through the chamber-50 and passage51 to thevalve head 40, thence through the restricted passage-definedbythe kerf 42 to the chamber 39 and then through passage 38 and port 34 topipe 35. The rate'of-"ilow to the drain is thus determined by the crosssectional area of the kerf 4-2 in the valve-head 40 and pressure of thewater. For best results the rate of flow must be regulated in accordancewith matically returns the apparatus to normal softening operation. Therequired reversal-of the position of the valve head 41'takes place whenthe recesses H anal-2 in the cam disks65and GBreach a position inalignment with the roller 64 so that the roller enters these-recessesunder the force exerted by the spring62 as it withdraws the detent 59*from engagement with'the shoulder 58 onthe plunger 55. The plunger isthereby released to the position shown in Fig. 11 and spring 52 isallowed to expand and to actuate the valve head 41 toopen positionrelative to its seat 46 and to closed position against its seat 45,thereby stopping the flow of liquid to drain and allowing the soft waterto enter the service .pipe 31. The spring 51 is somewhat stiffer thanthe spring 52 and is only slightly compressed when the valve head 41closes against the seat 46. The spring 51 thus compensates for wear onthe valve head 41 and insures firm closing of the head against the seat46.

By providing interchangeable valve heads 40 formed with kerfs 42 ofvarious diiferent and suitable cross sectional areas, my apparatus isadapted to efficiently regenerate softeners where the water to besoftened is supplied at various pressures or pressure ranges andcontains varying amounts of hardening salts. Since the passage definedby the kerf 42 should for most domestic installations have a crosssectional area smaller than .01 square inch, the initiation of theregenerating operation would be greatly delayed if the flow of waterfrom the tank preparatory to regeneration were limited by the rate offlow required during regeneration. By providing the quickly movablevalve head 40 I facilitate the rapid drawing off of water from the brinechamber 20 when the charge of granular regenerating material is to becharged intothe tank.

A further important feature of my invention resides in the arrangementof the clock operated spindle 6! in laterally spaced relation to theplunger 55 and the latch mechanism comprising the detent 59 which ismovable perpendicularly to the axes of the spindle 61 and plunger 55 ina straight line extending between said axes,

This arrangement of latch and operating mechanism is peculiarly compactand simple and results in unusually reliable operation which is furtherpromoted by the anti-friction rollers 6! and 64 and my arrangementwhereby the roller 64 throughout the time control period engages thecircular peripheries of the cam disks 65 and 66 which are concentricwith the operating spindle 61. With this arrangement there is a minimumof resistance to the operation of the clock mechanism and no increase orother variation in such resistance during any part of the cycle ofoperation.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protectby Letters Patent is:

1. For water softening apparatus having a tank containing softeningmaterial, said tank having an outlet for liquid, a control comprising, acasing having an inlet port connected to said tank outlet, a serviceport connected to a service pipe and a drain port connected to a drainpipe, a valve member movable in said casing to selectively control theflow of liquid to said service or drain ports, a second valve membermovable to restrict the flow of liquid to said drain pipe, a seat forsaid second valve member, a passage of fixed cross sectional areadisposed to permit flow of liquid at a predetermined rate past said seatto the drain pipe when said second valve pipe and a drain port connectedto a drain pipe, a valve membermovable in said casing to selectivelycontrol the flow of liquid to said service or drain ports, a secondvalve member movable in said casing to restrict the flow of liquid tosaid drain port, said casing being formed with a seat for said secondvalve member, a passage of fixed cross sectional area disposed to permitflow of liquid at a predetermined rate past said seat to the drain pipewhen said second valve member is in closed position relative to saidseat and means for actuating said second valve member to an openposition relative to said seat to thereby increase the rate of flow tosaid drain pipe.

3. For water softening apparatus having a tank containing softeningmaterial, said tank having an outlet for liquid communicating with saidtank at an elevation above the water softening material therein, acontrol comprising, a casing having an inlet port connected to said tankoutlet, a service port connected to a service pipe and a drain portconnected to a drain pipe, a valve member movable in said casing toselectively control the flow of liquid to said service or drain ports, asecond valve member movable to restrict the fiow of liquid to said drainpipe, 21 seatfor said second valve member, a passage formed in saidsecond valve member to permit flow of liquid at a predetermined fixedrate past said seat to the drain pipe when said second valve member isin closed position relative to said seat and means for actuating saidsecond valve mem: her to an open position relative to said seat tothereby increase the rate of flow to said drain pipe.

- LYNN G. LINDSAY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

V UNITED STATES PATENTS Number

1. FOR WATER SOFTENING APPARATUS HAVING A TANK CONTAINING SOFTENINGMATERIAL, SAID TANK HAVING AN OUTLET FOR LIQUID, A CONTROL COMPRISING, ACASING HAVING AN INLET PORT CONNECTED TO SAID TANK OUTLET, A SERVICEPORT CONNECTED TO A SERVICE PIPE AND A DRAIN PORT CONNECTED TO A DRAINPIPE, A VALVE MEMBER MOVABLE IN SAID CASING TO SELECTIVELY CONTROL THEFLOW OF LIQUID TO SAID SERVICE OR DRAIN PORTS, A SECOND VALVE MEMBERMOVABLE TO RESTRICT THE FLOW OF LIQUID TO SAID DRAIN PIPE, A SEAT FORSAID SECOND VALVE MEMBER, A PASSAGE OF FIXED CROSS SECTIONAL AREADISPOSED TO PERMIT FLOW OF LIQUID AT A PREDETERMINED RATE PAST SAID SEATTO THE DRAIN PIPE WHEN SAID SECOND VALVE MEMBER IS IN CLOSED POSITIONRELATIVE TO SAID SEAT AND MEANS FOR ACTUATING SAID SECOND VALVE MEMBERTO AN OPEN POSITION RELATIVE TO SAID SEAT TO THEREBY INCREASE THE RATEOF FLOW TO SAID DRAIN PIPE.